“Don’t attack us”: Submit memo to sultan if you disagree with ruling, Anwar tells Hadi

“Don’t attack us”: Submit memo to sultan if you disagree with ruling, Anwar tells Hadi





Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang should write a memorandum to the Sultan of Terengganu if he disagrees with the state’s decision to ban politicians from giving lectures in mosques and suraus.


“There is no need to attack the government as the ruling applies to all politicians, including myself as the prime minister,” he said after the monthly assembly for finance ministry staff in Putrajaya.

Terengganu’s rationale for the ban was the excessive inclusion of political elements in religious discourse according to him as he met with reporters after the monthly assembly for finance ministry staff here today.


Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Maidam) issued the prohibition last week declaring that mosques and suraus should never be used to cause anxiety, restlessness, or discord in the community.

Terengganu’s Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin was upset that some politicians had given religious lectures or classes, and led Friday prayers without the council’s consent.

Subsequently, Hadi stated it was not a misdemeanour for politicians to give religious lectures in mosques and suras, and that leaders were obliged to speak about political Islam.

Meanwhile, Anwar said he also respects the decision of the Malay rulers in their respective states who have issued similar orders such as the one in Terengganu, including in Selangor.

Because of that, he also politely declined when he was invited to give lectures or speeches at the mosque he attended for Friday prayers every week as Malay rulers have previously spoken out against people giving political speeches in mosques and suraus. – March 7, 2023